Thirty years. How do we quantify just how much time this is? The Cold War passed the torch to a frightening new age of terrorism. The Internet and other exponential advancements in telecommunications have shrunk the world down into a very small community. Let’s be honest: the past thirty years have ushered in an uncertain new world for many of us.

So it is perhaps with a twisted sense of irony that we can also quantify thirty years as a significant anniversary for the darkest entry in the Original Trilogy—The Empire Strikes Back. Considering the rampaging marketing vehicle that Star Wars has become, it should come as little surprise that 2010 stands to be a record year for Empire-centric merchandise.

On the mass market front, Hasbro joined the celebration by revisiting their “Vintage Collection” specialty line. This will mark the fourth time the toy company has delved into such nostalgic territory, and one can expect 2013 to see a similar Jedi-centric assortment for that film’s thirtieth anniversary. While lauded as a popular line with collectors, prior Vintage assortments, particularly the five figure “Vintage Saga Collection” wave—have seen their fair share of pegwarmers. This is no doubt due in part to the premium $10 MSRP of the figures. Still, these collections have yielded quite a few high quality figures, ones that often became THE definitive renditions of their character/costume counterparts.

Today’s review spotlights one such standout entry in this latest Vintage Collection: Princess Leia Organa in her Hoth outfit. Being both a fan-favorite look for the Princess and a figure in desperate need of an overhaul, Hasbro’s attempt hits many more marks than it misses. Without further ado, here is Yodasnews’ in-depth examination of “Hoth Leia”.

This is my most anticipated figure from the first wave of TVC. Although I do not have her in my collection yet, I cannot imagine a way to improve on this figure (based on what I have seen in pictures).

I am eager for this one, and for the Sidious figure from the second wave.